750 Figure 2 – Flotation cell size evolution based on Metso data. The significant increase in flotation cell sizes is mainly driven by declining ore grades and the need to process larger throughputs (Lopez-Pacheco 2021; Liu et al. 2022). Even though larger cells offer simplified operations (Vallejos et al. 2022) and economic benefits, such as cost savings from reduced equipment and maintenance needs (Bermudez et al. 2021; Bermudez et al. 2022), they often face challenges due to decreased froth velocity and stability caused by greater froth transport distances to the launder lip (Lopez-Pacheco 2021). To ensure optimized froth carry rates (FCR), the need for enhanced froth zone optimization becomes even more critical (Bermudez et al. 2022). As shown in Fig. 3, the process parameters like lip length, froth transport distance, and froth surface area increase with the volume of the flotation cell. Lip length measures the length of the launder lip, where the froth can be collected by crowding it. Froth transport distance therefore measures the distance bubbles need to travel to reach the launder lip, and froth surface area measures the area on the top of the flotation tank. Increased froth transport distance hampers the froth management, and therefore negatively affects efficient froth collection (Brito-Parada et al. 2020).
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